Artistic31Mama: Feb 6, 2012

Creative Kid Snacks

Creative Kid Snacks

Palm Tree Fruit

Palm Tree Fruit: Snack for Kids

Palm Tree Fruit: Snack for Kids

Ingredients

(Per plate)

1 Kiwi

1 Banana

1 Orange

I saw this idea on a photo from Pinterest. I thought my kids would love it! :-)

I always cut the ends off my kiwi and then slice the skin off length wise around the side.

Then I cut it into slices.

Then I cut those slices in half.

Then I got out the oranges....

And peeled them....

Then the bananas....

I peeled them and sliced them in half.

Then just assemble them like so..... My kids were so tickled when they saw them. They pointed to the oranges and said "That's the sand" then ate the "leaves" of the Kiwi. My oldest son looked at me and said " You is very smart to make that" lol I love my kids. :-) I need to start being more creative with their food and bring some excitement into healthy eating!

Homemade Salsa

Homemade Salsa

Inspired by Pioneer Woman's Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients

1 - 28oz can Whole Tomatoes (No Juice)

2 - 10oz cans Rotel (I even found them in the Walmart brand) Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies

1/3 Cup Chopped Onion

1 whole Jalapeno, sliced

1/2 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Ground Cumin

Whole Lime Juice (1 small lime)

1 Tbsp dried Cilantro

Click HERE to print Homemade Salsa recipe

REVISED Salsa Recipe (My Own Version) 03-31-12:

Ingredients:

2 Jalapenos, quartered

1/2 Onion

1 Lime, juiced

1/8 tsp Ground Cumin

1 1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 tsp Sugar

1-29oz can Crushed Tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried Cilantro

15 oz can Diced Tomatoes

Click HERE to print Homemade Salsa (Revised) recipe.

(Placed everything but the diced tomatoes in the food processor and process until smooth. Add the diced tomatoes for a little texture and serve). **This was served at Joey's 1st Birthday party and was a big hit!

I stumbled upon this recipe of Pioneer Woman's. I love her website and recipes! This is an awesome recipe for homemade salsa. I made a few tweaks and changes to fit my own taste. My husband still feels I need to add more Jalapenos (I don't...haha). So I'm sure you can adjust this to perfection according to your own tastes. I thought this was a great base recipe to go from.

Gather your ingredients....

Add the whole tomatoes to your food processor/blender. In the original recipe it says to add in the tomatoes WITH juice. I did this for my first batch and thought with the lime juice it was too runny for my liking. So for my next batch I will be leaving out the tomato juice. :-) If you like your salsa a little runnier though, by all means include the juice!

Then the diced tomatoes...

Your onion....

I just had to take a shot of my retro food processor. I LOVE it! I was my parents. They hadn't been using it and passed it along to me. I use it ALL the time. It seems like I'm always washing it. It's so durable. They definitely don't make things like they used to. Anyway...back to the salsa...

Cut up your Jalapeno.

And toss it in...

Now if you look at the original recipe she calls for garlic. I actually forgot to add it when I made this batch and it tasted great without it so I'm omitting that from my version.

Add the sugar...

And salt...

And squeeze in your lime juice....

Squeeze them good and get all that juice out. :-)

Next add your Cilantro. I would have liked to use fresh Cilantro but unfortunately I think just about everyone was probably making salsa for the Superbowl and the store was all out. All the more reason to grow another herb garden this summer! :-)

Add your cumin...

Process/blend all the ingredients to a "chunkiness" of your liking.

It make a decent amount of Salsa. About 1 1/2 quarts. I think it tastes great!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients

1lb Chicken Tenderloins

1/2 C Frank's Red Hot Sauce (Original)

2 Cloves Garlic

2 Tbsp Butter (I used Smart Balance LITE)

1/2 Medium Tomato Sliced

Iceberg Lettuce

Ranch Dressing

1/2 C Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

Olive Oil (optional)

Two Hoagie Buns

My husband and I had these last night during the Superbowl. The kids aren't much into Buffalo Chicken since they don't like how it "burns" :-) So I made the kids pigs in a blanket instead. I think these are my FAVORITE sandwiches EVER. I've always loved spicy chicken sandwiches. This one is a bit of a healthier version but it tasted soooo good. :-D

I used chicken tenderloins but you could just cut up chicken breasts if you have that on hand.

Start cooking your chicken in the skillet. Keep adding a little bit of water to prevent the chicken from sticking as it cooks. Turn from side to side until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

For the sauce I used a combo of Frank's Red Hot sauce (original), Smart Balance Lite spread, and Fresh Garlic.

Add the Frank's Red Hot....

Then add the pressed garlic cloves and butter. Saute on a low heat for a few minutes until most of the sauce is absorbed and thickens.

You can use whatever type of ranch dressing you want to, fat free, light, or regular. I mix my own up from the Hidden Valley ranch mix because I ran out of dressing. I used skim milk and regular mayo (I finished all my fat free sour cream in another recipe and this is all I had left...oops)

Get out your hoagie buns and open them up....

Brush on some Olive Oil....

Lay out your chicken on the bun.

Top with mozzarella cheese (about a 1/4 cup per sandwich)

Then I toasted my sandwiches in my toaster oven. I set it on "Bake" at 350 degrees for about 15-20mins, just until the bun was crisp and cheese was melted.